The Overcrowding of Prisons

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According to Mark Early, president of the Prison Fellowship International, the Bureau of Justice Statistics report shows that there are 19 states that have prisons operating at 100 percent capacity and another 20 are falling right behind them. There is no wonder why the overcrowding of prisons is being discussed everywhere. Not to mention how serious this predicament is and how serious it can get. Many of the United States citizens don’t understand why this is such a serious matter due to the fact that some of them believe it’s not their problem. Therefore they just don’t care about it. Also, some Americans may say that they don’t care about what could happen to the inmates due to repercussions of overcrowding, because it’s their own fault. In order to cure this growing problem people have to start caring about what’s going on, even if it’s to people who might deserve it. The problem is that the people who are being incarcerated don’t need to be incarcerated. Instead of trying to do what is best for the offenders and help them we are just throwing them in prisons for so many years and hoping it will help. Yes, this idea is working in some cases, but in other cases throwing the person in for many years is actually making it worse. They are not getting the help or treatment they need. I spoke with a man who was in prison for many years and he said getting drugs in prison is so much easier than getting them outside of prison. He also said that most drug offenders go back to prison, because they do not get help with their addictions. They are being put into a place that is just making their addictions worse. People may say that the problem with overcrowding of prisons does not affect them, but if you’re a taxpayer this prob... ... middle of paper ... ...2013. Frantz, Michael. “Federal Prison Overcrowding-Costs, Reasons, and Alternatives!” PRLog. N.a., 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Howard, John. “The Effects of Prison Overcrowding.” P.A.T.R.I.C.K. Crusade. N.a., May 2002. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. “Improving Conditions in Overcrowded Prisons.” Prison Fellowship International. N.a., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013 King Edward Public School students. TRIPOD. Build a Free Website of Your Own. Lycos Inc. n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013 Knafosaki, Saki. “10 Ways To Reduce Prison Overcrowding And Save Taxpayers Millions.” Huffington Post. N.a., 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Lee, Vic. “Gascon Offers Solution to Reduce Prison Overcrowding.” ABCLocal. KGO-TV, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. “Prison Overcrowding: The Problem.” American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC-American Legislative Exchange Council, 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

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